The Riches: Izzard Says TV Show Will Continue as a Movie

Published: November 5, 2008

Many fans of The Riches were left on the edge of their seats for months, waiting to hear word about the fate of the gritty FX series. Unfortunately, when the word finally came down, it wasn’t one they wanted to hear: cancelled. But, according to one of the TV show’s stars, the story isn’t over.

The Riches TV show debuted in March 2007 on FX. The series follows a family of Irish con artists who assume the identities of a wealthy family who perished in a car accident. The show stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver in the roles of Wayne and Dahlia Malloy. Others in the cast include Shannon Marie Woodward, Noel Fisher, Aidan Mitchell, Todd Stashwick, Gregg Henry, Margo Martindale, and Bruce French. Stashwick broke the cancellation news to fans last month and an official cancellation notice came soonafter.

In a recent TV Squad interview, series star Izzard says that there are plans to make a Richesfeature film, inspired at least in part by the interest of a famous fan.

Do you think a Riches movie will really be made?

Izzard says, “Oh, there was unfinished business [in the series]. We want to do a film about it. We want to do a film to continue it on….We’re already working on the script for it. Because I met Samuel L. Jackson in a lift, or an elevator, as you say, in London. And he was going, ‘So what happens with your kids…they gonna be ok, you continuing, what’s going on?’ So I thought, well, if Samuel L. Jackson wants to know what’s going on, we have to do a film. So we’re going to pick up…the plan is to pick up exactly where we left off, and we think we’re going to make a film of the next bit.”

The actor believes the timing for a movie couldn’t be better. “You know, with the Internet exploding, with all the finances going through the roof, we’ve got passionate fans. We had great reviews, and passionate fans all over the world… But we didn’t have the right number of them. ”

While the show’s declining ratings ultimately doomed it, Izzard believes simply measuring a show’s popularity via traditional television viewers is unrealistic. He said, “And how you test with these Nielsen boxes, it’s antiquated. It’s 1950’s technology, and we’re doing stuff that is different. People are looking at it in different ways.”

The Riches was by far one of the best shows on telelvision!!! I can’t believe another cleaver, funny, sad…just all of the things that most shows aren’t all in one…IS CANCELLED!! I know they had a great following, who is the idiot that cancelled yet another wonderful-worth-watching show!!! No wonder everyone will soon only be watching HBO, Showtime and all the premium channels, they are taking all the good shows that are left off…shame on you network bigwigs!!!

I have just discovered “The Riches” from a Recommended DVD Release column in the newspaper and am glued to the TV, can’t turn it off until I’ve gone on the next episode. It’s expertly crafted, acted, written, filmed, directed, unpredictable in plot develpment, everything any intelligent viewer seeks in a TV series and rarely finds any longer, even on PBS. The suspense equals that of a HItchcock thriller, the dark humor, the poignant, almost heart-breaking moments, all 4 star. Why in heaven’s name it was cancelled with dreadful “reality” shows and high violence series substituted only demonstrates the FX executive’s faulty reasoning that legitimate, first class theater on TV can’t possibly be worth continuing, pandering instead to the ever-lowering of standards to keep the general public infused with violence-especially towards women, gang warfare, soft porn, starlets whose every other word is “like” and who are more concerned about their hair, make-up, and bust sizes than any genuine human emotion, as entertainment. Please make the movie, please.

You need to bring the show back my wife showed me it a couple days ago and i have went and bought season 1 and 2 and already watched them both i love the show please bring it back there is no other show like it and it is witty and clever i cant be left hanging like this. it is the best show on the air.

Bring back The Riches!! My wife and I are still withdrawing over its cancellation — we bought both seasons on dvd, but that’s just not going to cut it. How can you leave things hanging like this – fans have needs ya know – please all you ivorytower, tiewearing, glasswalled office dwelling execs – have mercy! (i do like the idea of a movie version tho – in addition to more fx seasons, of course) – The Riches is one of the very few shows i watch < watched — so, everybody keep the fath and keep saying your prayers!!

I really do hope that a movie is made. My family and I just watched seasons 1 and 2 on DVD and Hulu and we cannot believe that this series was cancelled! It is a great show! We really hope that the movie goes well and FX rethinks doing the show in the future.

The Riches was an amazing show! My friend told me to watch it for ages but I never have much time for TV since I started college. Got bored with studying and stumbed on it through hulu.com and fell in love with it. Watch every episode start to finish over the weekend. Couldnt believe it when I saw that it was cancelled. I’m glad they are coming out with a movie, but since each episode was about an hour long the movie will almost feel like an extended episode. hopefully the movie will get such great ticket sales that maybe the series can get revitalized.

As I Lay Totaly at the mercy of a bunch of doctors 2 years ago for 3 weeks in the hospital I discovered The Riches. That show help me though some very rough times. What a fantastic show top to bottom. I love all of you. This show should be on for the next 10 years, Shame on FX. You guys suck and I havn’t tuned to Fx since.